I have a cabinet I got from Target a few months ago that's held my 5 gallon (Spec V) and a 1 gallon (Marina Cubus) since I got it. I've been wanting to upgrade to a ~10 gallon and I'm worried about the extra 4+ gallons with the cabinet. The 1 gallon won't be on the cabinet anymore.

I'd rather not buy a new stand since it was kind of expensive (for wood composite/veneer...) and I like the way it looks. Unfortunately the specs for the cabinet's max load isn't available on Target's website.

Anyone have any thoughts on whether or not the cabinet should be reinforced or if it'll probably be fine?

could you post pictures of the cabinet .. inside and out

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it almost looks like its bowing in the middle already ... wouldnt hurt to reinforce it a bit ... never know when someones gonna come along and bump it

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It's not made to hold weight, I wouldn't chance it. Should it be ok? Maybe. But the cost of it breaking aren't worth the risk in my opinion.


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That's what I was afraid of. Has anyone tried reinforcing existing furniture like this? Not sure if I'll try it but curious if I would just use some crossbeams or something.

Hi guvmarley,

Welcome to TPT!

It is obviously not built to be an aquarium stand, however a 10 gallon aquarium with gravel/substrate and light will likely weigh less than 120 pounds. Play it safe, have a +/- 200 pound guy sit on the stand, wiggle around a little bit, and if the stand doesn't wobble or the legs fall off it is probably good.

i reinforced a pair of tables to hold my 30 .. but didnt care how pretty it looked just a few extra legs supporting the top ... 1 between the tables 1 inside of each and 1 on either side

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I would be more concerned about those four skinny legs more than anything, I build custom aquarium stands and just by looking at your pictures it should be ok but I wouldn't trust those legs. If you cut them off flush to the bottom it should be ok, can you post a picture of the whole bottom?


I know these aren't 10 gallon tanks but like I said it's better to be safe then sorry later on.


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haha thanks, I will try that with a friend

This isn't a great photo showing the legs but you sort of get the idea. Actually of the whole cabinet I think I'm least concerned with these. They were the most sturdy part during assembly.


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Ok, that's a lot better! I'm the other pictures it looked like little legs just coming off the bottom, you should be ok


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Always remember to level it all out first.


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I feel a bit different about this. I don't think it's ever a good idea to "reinforce" most existing furniture to hold an aquarium.

Water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, and by the time your add a substrata, some rocks, and the rest of the equipment, your will over 100 lbs for that 10 gal tank.

Get a for real aquarium stand, and you'll sleep a lot better at night. Building an aquarium stand is also an option, and not at all difficult to do.

agreed on building a stand .. ive got about 20 bucks into my 40b stand and that thing is solid as a rock

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